Business
Residential real estate up 4.4% year-on-year in Q3: BSP
December 31, 2018, 4:37 pm
MANILA -- Residential real estate prices were higher by 4.4 percent year-on-year in Q3 2018 as the Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) increased to 116.5 from 111.6 for the same quarter a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed in a statement over the weekend. Year-on-year… Read More
Biz groups optimistic as 2018 ends on stable note
December 31, 2018, 4:10 pm
MANILA -- Entrepreneurs have every reason to be optimistic about business prospects next year after the country's economy ended 2018 in much better shape, business leaders told the Philippine News Agency (PNA). International Chamber of Commerce Philippines (ICCP) founder and chairman Francis Chua… Read More
Drive vs. smuggling, tax evasion shifts to high gear in 2018
December 31, 2018, 2:47 pm
MANILA -- The government continued to intensify its campaign against smuggling and tax evasion through the combined efforts of the Bureaus of Customs (BOC) and of Internal Revenue (BIR) in 2018. On the watch of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the BIR spearheaded several raids on warehouses… Read More
Grab users spent average of P7K for rides in 2018
December 31, 2018, 1:25 pm
MANILA -- Customers of ridesharing firm, Grab, spent an average of PHP7,000 in fares for their trips in 2018. This, as the company has traveled more than 920 million kilometers reaching destinations across the country this year. “Our most engaged users -- the top 5 percent -- spent an average of… Read More
Central Visayas sees construction boom in 2018
December 28, 2018, 8:38 pm
CEBU CITY -- The construction industry in Central Visayas seems poised for robust growth next year as it ranks second in the top five regions with the highest number of construction projects, with Cebu province placing third at the provincial level, the Construction Statistics from Approved… Read More
Peso flat, PSEi down on 2018's last trading day
December 28, 2018, 6:39 pm
MANILA -- The Philippine peso ended sideways against the US dollar while the local stock market slipped during the last day of trading for 2018. The peso ended Friday at 52.58 from previous day’s closing of 52.66 to the greenback. It opened the day stronger at 52.65 from Thursday’s kick off at… Read More
TRAIN on its 1st year of implementation
December 28, 2018, 6:37 pm
MANILA -- Policy-makers are one in saying that any tax reform measure will always be met with doubts, but the Duterte administration’s economic managers were able to break the back of the beast, so to speak, after the first tax reform package was signed into law in December 2017. Called the Tax… Read More
Subic port breaches revenue goal by over P1-B
December 28, 2018, 4:59 pm
MANILA — The Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Subic posted PHP22.4 billion revenues for this year, surpassing its annual revenue goal of PHP 21.1 billion or by PHP1.2 billion. District collector and lawyer Rhea Gregorio on Friday said that as of December 28, the figure was the port's highest-ever… Read More
December inflation to settle within 5.2-6% range: BSP
December 28, 2018, 3:59 pm
MANILA -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has seen inflation going on a sustained slowdown this month due to declining prices of petroleum products and rice. The BSP Department of Economic Research (DER) projects inflation rate to settle between 5.2 percent and 6 percent this December.… Read More
BSP exempts SIT from reserve requirements
December 28, 2018, 3:05 pm
MANILA -- The Monetary Board approved the amendment to regulations on Trust and Other Fiduciary Account – Others (TOFA-Others) to include Specialized Institutional Accounts under Trust (SIT) among the accounts that are exempt from reserve requirements (RRs), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)… Read More
Local markets bounce back on Thursday
December 27, 2018, 8:40 pm
MANILA -- Both the local currency and the stock market recovered on Thursday after taking a step back a day earlier. The Philippine peso closed the day -- the first day of trading this week -- at 52.66 to a dollar, stronger by PHP0.20 from last week’s 52.86 to a greenback. It opened the day at… Read More
DOE ready to implement 2nd tranche of oil excise tax hike
December 27, 2018, 7:35 pm
MANILA -- The Department of Energy (DOE) said that it is prepared to implement the second increase in oil excise taxes next year, which is called for under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law. “The DOE, in coordination with the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal… Read More
PH one of Asia’s best performers despite high inflation
December 27, 2018, 3:51 pm
MANILA -- The Philippines remains one of Asia’s best-performing economies and is even poised to move up to upper middle-income status after managing to put in check an inflation surge which came alongside a spike in world oil prices in 2018. “The economy has been on a roll. It has been growing… Read More
SMC envisions Bulacan as seafood capital
December 27, 2018, 3:35 pm
MANILA --The largest and most ambitious airport project in the country to date will have Bulacan’s fishing industry as one of its biggest beneficiaries. Following government’s recent approval of the proposed New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project in Bulacan, San Miguel Corporation… Read More
BSP only partially issues TDFs
December 27, 2018, 3:17 pm
MANILA -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) only issued its term deposit facilities (TDFs) in partial this week as bids across three tenors were undersubscribed during Thursday’s auction. The BSP reported that tenders for the PHP30 billion TDF with six days tenor only reached PHP18.71… Read More
DOF offices, attached agencies told to work with PACC
December 27, 2018, 1:49 pm
MANILA -- Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has ordered all offices of the Department of Finance (DOF) and its attached agencies to closely coordinate with the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) in helping catch the big fishes involved in high-stakes, white-collar crimes, the finance… Read More
PCCI supports rehab, not closure, of tourist destinations
December 27, 2018, 11:18 am
MANILA -- The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) expressed its support to the government’s effort to rehabilitate tourist destinations across the country, but not the complete shutdown of these places. PCCI President Alegria Sibal-Limjoco told the Philippine News Agency that the… Read More
Stocks slip after Christmas Day
December 26, 2018, 5:33 pm
MANILA -- The local stock market slipped on Wednesday, as the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 0.40 percent or 29.7 points to 7,450.01 points. All shares likewise declined by 0.26 percent to 4,489.92 points. Majority of the counters ended the day weaker, but with mining and oil as well… Read More
DA targets 100K hectares for sorghum production in 2019
December 26, 2018, 10:28 am
MANILA -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) is targeting 100,000 hectares for sorghum planting, mostly in ancestral domain areas of the Indigenous People (IPs) to support rural hog and poultry raisers. DA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said a village-level feed mill would also be established to help… Read More
Aboitiz Equity to spend P60-B for 2019 projects
December 25, 2018, 8:00 pm
MANILA -- Conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) is earmarking PHP50 billion to PHP60 billion in capital expenditures (capex) for 2019, same as this year’s budget, with the bulk going to its power business unit as it expands here and overseas. “The bulk (of the amount) will be for… Read More
